The Bearded Dragon

“Boundless love always manages somehow to sparkle through your limited form.” ~ John Welwood


Something very strange happened to me yesterday. I had gone to the pet store near my husband’s business to pick up a can of goldfish flakes, and since I had a few minutes to spare I went to the live animal section to check out the snakes.

While I was admiring a baby water dragon, I saw something moving in the enclosure right beside it, so I looked and saw a bearded dragon. Since I’ve never found bearded dragons particularly attractive, I averted my eyes back to his more colorful water cousin, but with the corner of my eye I noticed that the bearded dragon had come right to the separating glass and was looking straight at me.

I looked again, and that’s when the bearded dragon put his tiny hands on the glass and lifted himself up, as if he wanted to be held. If that wasn’t crazy enough, I felt compelled to put my hand on the glass of the case and he leaned against it. Totally overwhelmed by the dragon’s response, I gently tapped on the glass and ran my finger over the surface as if I was petting him. When I did that, the dragon leaned against the glass even more, and closed his eyes.

I stood there for several minutes, then I pulled my hand off and the dragon immediately opened his eyes, staring directly into my own. I was smitten. Even if only for a few moments, I had connected with this tiny creature.

I reluctantly left him and went to pay for the fish food. I wanted to ask the cashier if it is normal for bearded dragons to be that sociable, and if they routinely bond with humans they’ve never seen before, but the feeling of what had just happened was so pure that I didn’t want to taint it by talking about it.

As I drove to pick up my daughter from school, I thought back about the dragon and about the incredible connections we make when we least expect them. My reality and that of this tiny lizard are worlds apart, yet a connection was undeniably there. We don’t have to be or think alike for energy to flow between us and others.

The body and the rational mind see the differences that exist among people and other living creatures. Spirit sees everything and everyone as one, only separated by our individual perceptions.

I don’t know if the little dragon will still be there tomorrow or in the days to come, but even if I never see him again, I know that for one single moment I was given an amazing gift, one which I will carry in my heart for years to come.

One Step Closer

“It is not enough to take steps which may some day lead to a goal; each step must be itself a goal and a step likewise.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe


Tidbit published a very inspiring post yesterday, about weight loss. She described how after trying the quick-fix methods with no lasting results she realized she had to change her eating habits completely, and side them with a regular exercise routine. Over the course of time she lost over 240 pounds, an astonishing amount, but the cool thing that struck me most about her post is the fact that by implementing such radical changes of lifestyle, she has accomplished something even greater – she learned that true success is determined by constant goal-setting, and by the self-discipline one develops along the way.

Whenever we face a daunting task – or pretty much any hard decision – the choice we must make is whether we are willing to stick with the longer route of long-term achievements, or if our goal is one of instant gratification.

I do not personally know Tidbit, but I could almost bet that her initial decision probably went through several layers of doubt during the first few weeks, when the budding results were still hard to see. I’m only assuming, so I hope that if I’m wrong Tidbit will correct me. In her place, most would have found it hard to remain focused on the distant goal while the work at hand was so hard and the results so minimal at first. As self-discipline has largely become a thing of the past, and societal pressure toward instant gratification continues to increase, many struggle to keep going unless they can see measurable results almost immediately.

Since long-term achievements can indeed appear scary, we can try to make the road to success a little easier to travel. Naturally, we can stay motivated for brief amounts of time, especially if we can rely on a source of support, so it wouldn’t be too hard – until the results begin to show and become the reward – to set smaller goals under the umbrella of the major goal itself. In the case of weight loss, for example, 240 pounds might seem like an unreachable destination, but it’s easy to wrap one’s mind around losing one or two pounds at a time. Once the smaller goal is achieved, a new one is set, followed by yet another one.

It is wonderful to have a big plan and find the resolve to begin the journey, but we should never forget that every step is getting us a bit closer, even if the destination is still nowhere in sight.

House Guests

“Your own mind is a sacred enclosure into which nothing harmful can enter except by your promotion.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

It is amazing how many of us go to great lengths to ensure that nothing harmful will enter our homes, but we rarely worry about the negative influences that we allow to pass into our minds. Most of us have specific and unique requirements for the people we welcome through our doors – no improper language, no smoking, no muddy shoes on the carpet, no loud talk…the sky is the limit – and if these people go against our wishes when they come in as guests, we have the right to tell them they should modify their behavior. If they don’t, we clearly have the right to ask them to leave.

Access to our minds works the same way. Regardless of how much power we think someone around us might have, they do not own our minds – we do. As hard as it might be to “evict” them, we have the upper hand on the situation, and they cannot remain if we don’t give them permission to stay.

Very often we don’t think we have that power. People and negative thoughts come into our lives and make themselves at home, leading us to think they have the right to tell us how to feel or think. If we don’t push them out the door the moment we notice their presence, they insinuate into the closets of our minds and look for weak, unhealed spots; once they find them, they immediately recognize old hurts as allies and use them as nourishment to grow new seeds of self-doubt.

In order to begin the cleaning process, we must first stop the constant flow of unwanted junk. Once we are stabilized, we can finally concentrate on cleaning out the old which no longer serves us. Keeping out unwanted people and thoughts is easier than it seems. We envision horrible dramas unfolding, and family members and friends who no longer talk to us after we tell them what our expectations are; even worse, we assume we don’t have the strength to keep the intruders at bay, and it will be only a matter of time before they come barging through the door again. In reality, their power is just an illusion, and their tendency to be offended just because we ask for respect only highlights the fact that we don’t need them in our world.

It is okay to invite in people and thoughts different than those we normally entertain, but they should know the moment they walk across the threshold that their input will only be considered and not blindly accepted as unshakable truth. After all, when all is said and done, they come and go and leave us to pick up the pieces alone.

Choose wisely who and what you let in, and never be afraid to reclaim your space as your own. Your name is the only one on the lease agreement.